Chinese Alcohol.docx

Chinese Alcohol.docx

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ChineseAlcohol

ChineseAlcohol,ChineseSpirits

WhatisthehistoryofChinesealcohol?

InChina,alcoholisalsocalledthe"WaterofHistory"becausestoriesofliquorcantracedbacktoalmosteveryperiodinChinesehistory.ItisbelievedthatChinahasabout4,000yearsofhistory.AlegendsaidthatYiDi,thewifeofthefirstdynasty'sKingYu（about2100BC）inventedthemethodtomakealcohol.

InancientChina,sincealcoholwasregardedasasacredliquidonlywhenpeoplemadesacrificialofferingstoHeavenandtheEarthorancestorswasitused.AftertheZhoudynasty,alcoholwasdeemedasoneoftheNineRites,andeverydynastyputgreatemphasisonalcoholadministrationtosetupspecialministriestomanagealcoholproductionandbanqueting.Later,alongwiththedevelopmentofzymotechnicsandbrewery,alcoholbecameanordinarydrink.Thus,manycustomsconcerningalcoholformedandevolvedwhichhadandhavevariousrelationshipswithChinesedailylife.

LiquoranditsbrewingtechnologywereonceintroducedfromneighboringregionsduringtheHan,TangandYuanDynasties.DuringtheTangdynasty,liquorwaspopularandwashighlypraisedbymanyfamouspoets.ItwasservedasadesignatedofferingfortheRoyalAncestralTempleduringtheYuanDynasty.

Inthebeginning,milletwasthemaingraintomakealcohol,theso-called“yellowwine.”Thenricebecamemorepopular.Itwasnotuntilthe19thcenturythatdistilleddrinksbecamemorepopular.Afterthefermentationprocess,Chinesealcoholhasabalmyfragranceandissweet-tasting,withnosharpness.Traditionally,Chinesedistilledliquorsareconsumedtogetherwithfoodratherthandrunkontheirown.Alcoholalwaysaccompaniesdeliciousdishes,eitherwhenpeoplefirstmeetorwhenoldfriendshaveareunion.

AlcoholispartofChinesefolklore.InmodernChina,alcoholretainsitsimportantroleinfolkloredespitemanysocialvicissitudes.Itstillappearsinalmostallsocialactivities,andthemostcommoncircumstancesarebirthdaypartiesforseniors,weddingfeastsandsacrificialceremoniesinwhichliquoristhemaindrinktoshowhappinessorrespect.

Categories

Chineseliquorcanbegenerallyclassifiedintotwotypes,namelyyellowliquors（huangjiu）orclear（white）liquors（baijiu）.

Baijiu,or“shaojiu”isaChinesedistilledalcoholicbeverage.Thenamebaijiuliterallymeans"whiteliquor,""whitealcohol"or"whitespirits.”Baijiuisoftenmistakenlytranslatedas"wine"or"whitewine,"butitisactuallyadistilledliquor,generallyabout80to120proof,or40-60%alcoholbyvolume.Itisusuallyservedonthetableoffamiliesandrestaurantseitherforget-togethers,celebrations,orsimplyforfunandrelaxation

History

AtthetimethatancestorsoftheChinesepeoplestartedlivingincommunitiesalongtheYellowRivervalley,theplantingofvariouskindsofgrainlaidthefoundationformakingwinesandalcohol.

SomescholarsbelievethatthetechniqueformakingChineseliquororiginatedintheXiaDynasty（c.2100BC-c.1600BC）.HistoricalrecordscreditYiDiandDuKangasthefoundingfathersofmakingliquorprofessionally.

Accordingtohistoricalrecords,YiDimadegreateffortstomakemellowwinewithfermentedglutinousrice.DuKang,wholivedintheXiaDyanasty,iscreditedwithmakingtop-notchliquorwithChinesesorghumbeans.Asthestorygoes,"DuKangstoredsomecookedChinesesorghumseedsinsideahollowtreestumponawinterday.Inthespringofthefollowingyear,afragrantaromawaftedfromthetreestumpintothenostrilsofDuKang.Afterwards,DuKangfoundthatitwasthefermentedsorghumseedswhichgaveoffthealluringfragrance."Thisaccidentaldiscoveryinspiredhimtomakeliquorfromfermentedsorghumseeds.

Taste

ThereareanumberofpopulardescriptionsinEnglishwhichcommentunfavorablyonthetasteofbaijiu,comparingitwithrubbingalcoholordieselfuel.TheauthorTimClissold,whowritesfrequentlyonChina,notedthathe'd"nevermetanybody,evenattheheightsofalcoholicderangement,preparedtoadmitthattheyactuallylikedthetaste,”andthat"afterdrinkingit,mostpeoplescrewuptheirfacesinaninvoluntaryexpressionofpainandsomeevenyellout..”

Classification

Accordingtoitsfragrance,Baijiucanbeclassifiedinto6differentcategories.

"Sauce"fragrance:

Ahighlyfragrantdistilledliquorofboldcharacter.TotheWesternpalate,saucefragrancebaijiucanbequitechallengingtothesenses.Ithassolventandbarnyardaromas,withtheformer,incombinationwiththeethanolintheliquor,impartingasharpammonia-likenote.Itssmellhasbeendescribedasstinkytofucrossedwithgrappa.Totheinitiated,itisquitedeliciousandisconsideredtheperfectcomplementforfinepreservedandpickledfoods.Thisclassisalsoreferredtoas"Maoxiang,"afterthebestknownwineofthisclass,Maotai.

Heavy/thickfragrance:

Aclassofdistilledliquorthatissweettasting,unctuousintexture,andmellow,withagentlelastingfragrancecontributedbythehighlevelsofesters,primarilyethylacetate.MostliquorsofthisclassaremadeusingAspergillus-typestarters.OneexampleofthistypeofliquoristheFiveGrainsLiquidofYibin.

Lightfragrance:

Delicate,dry,andlight,leavingadelectablemellowandcleanfeelinginthemouth.Theflavorofthisdistilledliquoriscontributedprimarilybyethylacetateandethyllactate.AnexampleofthiskindofliquorisFenjiuofShanxi.

Ricefragrance:

Thecharacterofthisclassofwineisexemplifiedbybaijiudistilledfromrice,suchasTri-FlowerLiquorofGuilin.ThistypeofwinehaslonghistoryandismadeusingRhizopusspp.typestarters（"Smallstarter"）.Ithasacleanfeelinginthemouthandisslightlyaromaticaroma,dominatedbyethyllactatewithlesserflavorcontributionsbyethylacetate.

Honeyfragrance:

Aclassofdistilledliquorwiththefragranceofhoney.Liquorsofthisclassaresubtleinflavorandsweetintaste.

Layeredfragrance:

Aclassofdistilledliquorsthatcontainthecharacteristicsof“Sauce,”Heavy,andLightFragrancedistilledliquors.Assuch,liquorsofthisclassvarywidelyintheiraroma,feelinginthemouth,anddryness.AnexampleofthistypeofliquorisXifengJiu,producedinFengxiangCountyofShaanxi.

FamousBaijiu

HereisalistofsomefamousvarietiesofbaijiuinChina,whichyoucanbuyinliquorstoresororderinarestaurant.

Fenjiu-thiswinedatesbacktotheNorthernandSouthernDynasties（550A.D.）.ItistheoriginalChinesewhitewinemadefromsorghum.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

63-65%.

ZhuYeQingjiu-thiswineisFenjiubrewedwithadozenormoreselectedChineseherbalmedicines.Oneoftheingredientsisbambooleaves,whichgivethewineitsnameanditsgreenishcolor.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

46%.

MaoTaijiu-thiswinehasahistoryofover200years.ItisnamedafteritsorigininMaoTaitowninGuizhouprovince.Itismadefromwheatandsorghumthroughauniquedistillingprocessthatinvolvesseveniterationsofthebrewingcycle.ThiswinewasmadefamoustothewesternworldwhentheChinesegovernmentserveditinstatebanquetsentertainingUSpresidents.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

54-55%.

GaoLiangjiu-GoaLiangistheChinesenameforsorghum.Besidessorghum,thebrewingprocessalsousesbarley,wheat,andotheringredients.ThewineoriginatedfromDaZhiGuintheMingDynasty.Today,Taiwanisalargeproducerofgaoliangjiu.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

61-63%.MeiGuiLujiu（roseessencewine）-avarietyofgaoliangjiuwithdistillfromaspecialspeciesofroseandcrystalsugar.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

54-55%.

WuJiaPijiu-avarietyofgaoliangjiuwithauniqueselectionofChineseherbalmedicinesaddedtothebrew.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

54-55%.

DaGujiu-OriginatefromSichuanwith300yearofhistory.Thiswineismadeofsorghumandwheatbyfermentinginauniqueprocessforalongperiodinthecellar.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

52%.

YukBingShiujiu-aricewinewithover100yearhistory.Itismadeofsteamedrice.Itisstoredalongperiodafterdistillation.Alcoholcontentbyvolumne:

30%.

SheungJing（doubledistill）andSanJing（tripledistill）Jiu-twovarietiesofricewinebydistillingtwiceandthreetimesrespectively.Alcoholcontentbyvolume:

32%and38-39%respectively.

SanHua（threeflowers）jiu-aricewinemadeinGuilinwithallegedlyoverathousandyearhistory.ItisfamousforthefragrantherbaladditionandtheuseofspringwaterfromMountElephantintheregion.Alcoholcontentbyvolumne:

55-57%.

HuangjiuofChineseLiquor（YellowLiquor）

Don'tbefooledbyitsname.YellowWineisnotreallyyellow.It'susuallybrewedwithrice,milletorwheat,andisoftenusedasakindofChinesetraditionalmedicine.

Huangjiu（literally"yellowwine"or"yellowliquor"）isatypeofChinesealcoholicbeveragebreweddirectlyfromgrainssuchasrice,millet,orwheat.Unlikebaijiu,suchliquorsarenotdistilled,andcontainlessthan20%alcohol,duetotheinhibitionoffermentationbyethanolatthatconcentration.Thesewinesaretraditionallypasteurized,aged,andfilteredbeforetheirfinalbottlingforsaletoconsumers.Thevariousstylesofhuangjiumayvaryincolorfromcleartobeige,yellowish-brown,orreddish-brown

Classification

ChineseLiquorHuangjiuisclassifiedbasedonvariousfactors.Amongthemaretheliquor'sdryness,thestarterusedinitsproduction,anditsproductionmethod.

Dryness/Sweetness

ThisistheformalclassificationforallChinesewines.Therearefivecategories:

dry,semi-dry,semi-sweet,sweet,andextra-sweet:

Dry:

withsugarcontentnogreaterthan1%.Thistypeofyellowwinehasthelowestfermentati